Sunday, January 31, 2010

Thursday, January 28, 2010

So as I drove home today after school, I really wanted to get something specific for dinner. I rarely venture to our the local Teeter after school for multiple reasons. At the end of the day I rarely look good enough to venture into the Cam Vill one, as I do not wish to meet my future husband with paint all over me.. then again, I guess that's something he'll have to get used to. Also, the parking is brutal. And the one up Oberlin, well, sometimes I just don't want to run into my girls from St Marys at the end of a long day and do the "COACH T!! How are you?! I miss you!" routine. BUT, today was an exception.....

Dear Raleigh, Yes, it might snow. Yes, there could be freezing rain. Yes, it could be real slippery. So please listen. A) don't overstock on milk.. what if the electricity goes out B) if you don't already have bread in the house, do you really need 3 loaves RIGHT NOW C) get a (excuse my language) freaking grip here. If part of drivers education was learning about how to NOT freak out in winter weather, the south would (seriously) not be made fun of as much. As someone only from a state up, I get it, it doesn't happen all that often. But for the love of Pete, whomever he may be, just go slow, know your car, and stay on major roads if you have to, and just stay home if you can.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

There is a place in Raleigh that is unlike all others. R&WP calls it, "The Bar". I'm not entirely sure how I would describe this place, except... well, just simply amazing. If you weren't fully convinced how small ITB was, go to The Bar, and it'll get thrown in your face. That guy you were making out with on the dance floor last weekend, yea, he's over there talking to your roommate and you're new favorite friend that you're hanging out with at the moment, yea, they know each other. You can show up at this bar and you will find someone you know. It could be someone you went to Kindergarten with.... in Virginia. Or it could be some of your best friends, because they are awesome and amazing and I love that I know they'll be there. But last night, was a night for the books.

III, JHS, and Watkins were at The Bar. Now hear me out. This shouldn't happen. Just like KTP said, we should be safe at The Bar. But there they were. They hate The Bar. Have refused with promises of free alcohol AND food. Yet in they walked. Worlds were colliding ALL OVER THE PLACE. Now I apologize for those that do not know me, these people, this bar. But for those that do, you understand. In the end, it was a very fun night, definitely one to remember, made lots of new friends, danced, drank, and was very merry. But I believe I was in what I like to call "people overload". Every time I turned around someone else was there. I have this new friend and we seem to click very well. He's very easy to talk to. Without him and his "slutty", "desperate", "wasted", etc, commentary on the people around us, I think I may have been in shock. He was my comic relief for the night. So I've decided I like making new guy friends. No, seriously. I think things can get so wrapped up and though I didn't have someone to go home to/with, it put a huge smile on my face when I got a phone call saying he got home safe and was checking on me....

Something to be said about southern gentlemen.....

But let me reiterate, my new life theme song:

It's a small world after all.It's a small world after all.It's a small world after all.It's a smallsmallworld!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

If you asked my mother, I am a very ungrateful person. She believes this can come easily from being unhappy, but she finds it hard to tell the difference between the two when it comes to me. I think I have been bred from a hard learned truth that life has been really bad when its bad, but also really good when it's good. I seem to miss those middle of the ground periods. I try to be positive; or atleast I am now. A new year's resolution of mine is to take the little things in life, remember them, hold on to them, and let them bring me joy even in the darkest of days. 2 years ago, a student of mine gave me a Christmas present. At the time, I scoffed at it, thinking this was simply a re-gift from his mother and was honestly somewhat annoyed. This child made my day to day, well, not so awesome; and the mother wasn't so swift either. Sometimes these types of parents realize what they put us teachers through, and on occasion have really stepped it up and sucked up at Christmas time. This present, however, almost annoyed me more. The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude. This was a hardback book, with quotes of gratitude randomly throughout a calendar of sorts. It's a diary I guess, where you write a few words, a sentence at most, about what you were grateful for that day. At the time I threw it on a shelf and hadn't looked at it again until just a few days ago... and it hit me. This is my new year's resolution. How dare I take a gift from a student and not cherish it with my whole heart. How dare I take a gift from a mother who may realize she does not know me and does not have the first clue what to do for me (or her child). But instead of looking at the negatives like that, I was happy. Happy I waited to use this book 2 years later for I believe I need this book now more than ever. In his own writing, whether coerced by his mother or not, a young boy wrote to me: "Ms. T, Thank you for being a wonderful teacher. Thank you for everything. Sterling". He may have made my first year in Kindergarten damn tough, but he's doing amazing in 2nd grade, he has grown into a very handsome young successful student. And you're damn right I take some credit.

So I figured I would every now and then, update and let you know what I've entered into my GB (grateful book). I think the whole point, or as I interpret it as, is you don't need to write a book to explain what you're thankful for. I may forget the specific things I reference from day to day, but the idea of it will remain. I may not remember what movie made me laugh, which child gave me an unexpected hug, but I'll know it made me happy.

The opening quote is:

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."~ Meister Eckhart

Jan 1: Being with friends to start the new yearJan 2: A roaring fire and a good movieJan 3: The GoatJan 4: A jobJan 5: Kindergarten hugs, even when you don' "need" themJan 6: Sense of humor - mine and other's